Peripetia
by Vastulja Sata Menton
Summary: Duo is stuck on L2, and things aren't looking good. But something happens, and it changes things compleatly. Is it for the better or worse though?
1. Chapter One

Peripetia

_**Vastulja Sata Menton**_

_Chapter One_

Duo watched through a window as rain poured down outside. Drops of water trickled down the window, making it look like the glass was crying. Duo sighed and moved away from the window to sit down in the dark living room. He stared at the wall and wondered how he had gotten into such a predicament. How he had ended up where he had? What cruel fate had brought him back to L2? Oh sure, it was better than when he was a kid, but not by much. After the war, things had gotten better for the colonies. But it was hard for a place dug so deeply in a hole to climb out. It had been only two years since the end of the war, so the government was still working on improvements. It was no great developing colony though. To everyone, it was just as much of a slum as it had ever been. But what had brought Duo back to the place he hated more than anything else? He wasn't even sure himself. One thing led to another, and he was now living in a run down, one bedroom house hardly suitable for even an animal to live in. He couldn't say he had a job; he was merely living off of funds that he had accumulated during the war (which wasn't much).

Duo sat back in an old tattered chair. He was running low on money; he didn't even have electric or heat anymore. He had been forced to sacrifice those things for food and water. Soon, though, he wouldn't have enough money for those either. He hadn't talked to any of his former comrades or friends in over a year. He was alone and poor. Why didn't he get a job, one might wonder? There weren't many jobs in the area; none that were available anymore that is. He could have just moved back to earth, but traveling required money, which he lacked. So he was stuck and he wasn't really sure how to get out of his dilemma.

"So this is what has become of the great God of Death?" Duo pondered aloud. He sighed and looked at the ceiling, willing it to give him the answers he so desperately needed. If only he could get a hold of someone. Many months ago, he would never have given a second thought to asking for help, but he didn't have a choice anymore. But now - now he had no way of contacting anyone, even if he knew how. Suddenly, there was a loud bang that caused Duo to jump. He looked around, wondering if it had been the artificial thunder. There was another banging, and it was coming from Duo's front door. He looked around for a moment, as if searching for someone to confirm what he had heard. There was no one there, as if he expected anyone anyway, so he got up and went to the door. There was another knock and Duo opened the door. Shock filled him as he saw standing before him none other than Trowa Barton. His manners kicked in. "Oh my gosh, Trowa. You're drenched! Come in out of the rain." Duo ushered him in and to the only living room chair he had left. "I'll get you a towel."

There was a mumbled 'thanks' from Trowa as Duo went off to get a clean towel. He came back out and handed it to his friend. As Trowa dried off as best he could, Duo went to the kitchen and grabbed a folding chair, the only thing left from his dining set. He sat down across from Trowa, unsure what to say.

"So, Trowa. What brings you all the way out to L2?" Duo inquired, very curious. He was trying to drive the thought of what his 'home' might look like to Trowa out of his head.

"You," Trowa stated quite bluntly.

"Me?" The American was shocked, to say the least.

"Yes, you. The others and I have been looking for you for quite some time now."

"R-really? Well, why?"

"Well, we all live different lives, so a couple of months without contacting anyone wasn't any big deal. But it had been a while since anyone heard from you, and no one could reach you by phone or via the Internet. So, we came looking for you," Trowa admitted. He folded the towel and held it in his lap.

"Heh, yeah." Duo scratched the top of his head absently, forcing a smile on his face. "I kinda couldn't afford a phone or a computer. So, that's why I wasn't able to call anyone."

"Have things been hard for you? I must admit, L2 doesn't look much better."

"Well, it's not been easy that's for sure. Yeah, L2 isn't much better." Duo's small smile faded.

"What brought you back, Duo?" Trowa inquired, leaning forward in curiosity. There was the sound of thunder outside and the rain began to fall harder.

"Heh." Well, he might as well tell the truth. "Well, to be honest..." Duo looked down. He hoped Trowa had the time, because it wasn't a short story. "I hadn't planned on coming to L2 after the war, to begin with. I came because I wanted to help at an orphanage if possible, to make a difference if I could. To give some kids something that I didn't have when I was younger. I helped out for a little bit, but...but things didn't go quite as I had planned. It brought back too many bad memories while I was there, so I had to leave. I still wanted to help though, to help L2 grow. So I got myself a little place on the money I had accumulated during the war. I tried to get a job, but I underestimated...everything. Jobs went so fast; I tried and tried but there wasn't anything available. L2's economy sucks. By that point in time, I didn't have enough money left to get a ticket out of here. So I did the only thing I could. I lived off of what I had left. I've had to sell a lot of stuff, sacrifice things like electricity and heat, if you haven't noticed that already." Duo looked up sheepishly.

There was a moment of silence. "Wow."

"Yeah." Duo sighed and looked around his sad little house. Part of him felt like a failure. He could hardly believe he had just spilled his entire story to Trowa.

"Well, this is going out on a limb, Duo. But, do you want to get off of this colony?" Trowa inquired quite seriously.

Duo blinked. "Are - are you serious?" Trowa nodded, the slightest smile forming at the corner of his lips. "What I would give to get off of this damned thing!"

"How about you come back to L1 with me? You can stay there a while, until things get worked out."

"Really? Wow, that would be great. I don't want to be a burden though."

"Don't worry about it, Duo. You're my friend, and that's what friends are for."

_Wow, he's really changed a lot._ "Thanks Trowa. This really means a lot. When do you plan on leaving L2?"

"Whenever you want." Trowa looked around. "And by the looks of it, I'd say pretty soon."

Duo smiled and nodded. It was pretty early in the afternoon, though with the rain it wasn't easy to tell. "I can get my stuff together right now, and if you want we can leave tonight. I - I don't really have any place for you to stay the night so it'd probably be best if we left tonight."

"Sounds good to me." Trowa nodded.

XXX

Duo watched out the window of the shuttle as it departed from the launch bay of L2. It was almost hard to believe his luck. Just when he was about to fall face forward into a deep hole, Trowa came to his rescue. He and Trowa had talked, and they had both agreed that no one had to be told about the whole situation until Duo felt the need to tell them. Pride wasn't an issue anymore, not that it ever really was. Duo was just glad to be getting off of L2 and to see his friends again. He knew that it wasn't going to be easy to get back on his feet, but it couldn't be as difficult as it has been on L2.

"We should be there in a couple of hours. I have a two-bedroom apartment in the north quarter. Heero and I are roommates, but having you there shouldn't be a problem," Trowa explained.

Duo was itching with curiosity. He knew that Trowa had said it was a two-bedroom apartment, and that could have meant that Heero had his own room. But a lot of people got a two-bedroom apartment to use the second room as an office. Duo just had to know, and there wasn't really any tactful way of asking so he just came right out and said it (even if he wasn't sure if either of the men swung that way). "So are you and Heero...like...together?" Duo looked at Trowa's face to gauge his reaction.

Trowa chuckled, a small smile forming on his lips. "No. Though I will openly admit to being gay, Heero has a girlfriend. She's been staying with us for the past few months actually. I wasn't sure how that would go, but it seems to be working out pretty well. She's pretty much just as uptight as Heero. She's more talkative, and shows her emotions more. She's nice most of the time, but I advice you not to piss her off."

"Let me guess. 'Omea o korosu'?" Duo smiled.

"Well actually, no. But honestly that would be better. She can be pretty sadistic. With her, death would truly be better. Heero's always been the type for 'quick and painless' but she's more of the 'torture to insanity' type," Trowa admitted.

"Wow. Sounds like a perfect match." Duo sounded skeptical.

"You'd be amazed. They have a few fights here and there, but for the most part it's almost like they are soul mates."

"Well that's cool. What about you? Have you found that right guy yet?" Duo prodded, hoping he wasn't being too nosey. He had spilled his very humiliating story to Trowa only hours before, so it only seemed right.

"Not yet. I was dating this one guy for a few months, and things were going pretty good. But things didn't really work out in the end." Trowa shrugged.

"That sucks. But that's ok. The right one will come along eventually. As they say, 'there are lots of fish in the sea'." Duo smiled. Trowa smiled back. The rest of the ride was spent in mostly silence. Duo was pretty much absorbed in his own thoughts; he was feeling a lot better about things already. Of course, the instant that anyone steps off of L2 they feel better.

It was dark on the north and east quarters of L1 by the time they arrived. L1 and L2 were on very close time schedules, which made it nice for Duo. They left the shuttle port at about nine, and Trowa assured Duo that the drive was only about half an hour. They were at their destination faster than Duo expected. Part of him wasn't surprised to find that Trowa was living in a very nice apartment complex. Trowa parked before leading Duo up to the second floor of three. Even the inside of the hallways were nice; Duo was almost scared to see what it looked like inside of the apartment. Trowa unlocked the door and let Duo in. As the door was shut, the American looked around.

They were in the entryway, and to the left was a closet for coats. To the right was an L shaped walk through kitchen. At the far end of the kitchen was a bar that looked over into a quaint dinning area. Along side of the kitchen and dinning area, to the right, was the very clean living room. There was also a sliding glass door that led to a balcony. Down the hall on the right were three doors. Duo deduced that two led to the bedrooms and one of them to the bathroom. The entire place was decorated quite nicely. Duo could see the strict cleanliness that mirrored Heero everywhere around the apartment. He also noticed the delicate touches Trowa had added. Duo wouldn't have thought that Trowa would be such a good designer but it turned out that he was. Duo felt even more embarrassed with his old apartment than he did before.

"Well, this is it. If you go down the hall, the only door on the right leads to the bathroom. On the left is Heero's and Sasha's room and mine is down the middle. You can stay in my room; I have a pull out bed for when guests stay."

Duo spun around. "Oh Trowa, I don't want to intrude. I can just sleep on the couch."

"Don't worry about it Duo. It doesn't bother me. You're my guest, and I wont have you sleeping on the couch." Trowa looked like there was no questioning his will.

Duo smiled. "Ok."

"Make yourself at home. The only thing I request is that you clean up after yourself. I'm not really a clean freak, but Heero and Sasha are. If you'll follow me..." Trowa led Duo into the kitchen. "These three cupboards are Heero's and Sasha's. Sasha is Vegan, so she keeps her food separated, and Heero eats a pretty strict diet too. They label their food in the refrigerator." Trowa smiled at the look on Duo's face. "Yes, I'm serious. Anything not labeled you can help yourself to. For the most part, my stuff is on the top shelf, Heero's is on the middle, and Sasha's is on the bottom."

"Wow." Was all that Duo could think to say.

"Yup." Trowa nodded. "Ok then. How about we grab your bags and head back to my room." Trowa led Duo to the room down the middle of the hallway. When the entered, Duo could defiantly tell that it was Trowa's room. There were small references to Trowa's work at the circus on the wall and not everything was completely spotless. Duo felt a little more comfortable in this room. Trowa pulled out a twin size fold away bed from under his own bed and set it up in an empty corner that looked like it was cleared for just that purpose. He quickly put a sheet on it, and put a few pillows and blankets on top. "You can sleep here until we get you hooked up."

"Thanks Trowa." Duo smiled, taking his few bags and setting them on the bed. It wasn't a bad set up.

"Heero and Sasha should be home in about fifteen minutes. When I left this morning they told me they'd be home around ten. Would you like something to drink?" Trowa asked quite unexpectedly.

"Uh, sure." They both went to the kitchen.

"What would you like?"

"What do you have?" Duo chuckled.

"Water, milk, the sparkling water is Sasha's so that's out of bounds, and beer."

"Hmm, I guess I'll take a beer."

Trowa grabbed two beers and led Duo to the dinning table. They both sat down and drank. As they enjoyed their drinks, Trowa pulled out his phone and dialed. "I'm just going to call Quatre." As Trowa made the call, Duo heard the front door open. Voices trickled in; Duo could identify one right off the bat. Heero sounded pretty much the same, though his voice was a little deeper. The other voice, however, he was unfamiliar with. It was a smooth female voice; Duo was a little excited to meet this Sasha girl.

"Yeah, I've got him here right now." Trowa spoke into the phone. "Yeah. Mhmm. Tomorrow? That should work out pretty good. I don't see a problem with that. Yeah. Ok, I'll call you in the morning. Bye." Trowa hung up and turned his attention to Duo. "I just talked to Quatre. He's got plenty of room at his place, and he wont take no for an answer. He's living on Earth right now. They moved the headquarters of Winner Inc. down to London. He's staying there. We'll be leaving in the morning, probably around ten-ish. Quatre is making the arrangements right now, and he said that the tickets should be waiting for us in the morning."

"Tickets?" Duo inquired, stressing the fact that it was plural.

"Yeah, I need to go down to talk to him about some things. Oh, hey Heero, Sasha." Trowa greeted as Heero and Sasha entered into the living room. Duo turned around.

Heero hadn't changed much. He was a little taller, but that seemed to be the only difference. He was wearing pants and a button up shirt; Duo was thankful to see that he wasn't wearing those spandex and that tank top anymore. His hair was still a mess like it always had been. Duo always wondered why Heero let his hair stay so messy if he was such a neat freak - he could only conclude that Heero couldn't get it to cooperate. There was another person standing next to Heero that Duo had never seen before. It was a thin female. She looked American, but that wasn't saying much. She could have been Canadian for all he knew. She had dark brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. She had delicately carved facial features with slightly high cheekbones and Duo had to admit that she was very pretty.

"Trowa." Heero nodded to the tall Latin man before turning to Duo. "Duo."

"Hey Heero. Long time no see." Duo smiled, though he had to admit it was a bit forced. Contrary to believe, he and Heero had never really gotten along. Duo had always been closer to Quatre. "And this must be..."

"Sasha. My name is Sasha." Sasha introduced herself with a light Russian accent and a smile. _Russian? Interesting. I wouldn't have pegged Heero to be attracted to anyone outside of his nationality._

Duo stood and took Sasha's hand. "A pleasure to meet you, Sasha. Duo Maxwell." He kissed her lightly on the hand. She smiled, as if unfazed by this action. Heero, on the other hand, didn't react quite the same way. Fire ignited in his eyes, and it was clear he was not happy. Duo wasn't surprised to find that Heero was the jealous type. Duo gently let go of Sasha's hand and inched back a bit. He held his hands up in defense. "No worries, Heero. I'm about as straight as a spring." Heero loosened up a bit at this, but he still seemed to be on guard. Duo could tell that Heero had his eye on him. Not that it mattered; by the sounds of it Duo was leaving some time in the morning. He was excited about this, but everything was happening so fast. He hoped that it wasn't all just a dream, and that it was real.

_End Chapter One_

** Definition of Peripetia: A sudden and unexpected change of fortune or reverse of circumstances (AN: this is for those of you who don't feel like looking it up, because I just so happen to be the same way :D )**


	2. Chapter Two

Peripetia

_**Vastulja Sata Menton**_

_Chapter Two_

Everything was happening so quickly, and before Duo knew it, they were on their way to Earth. The trip would be a little longer than it had been between the colonies, but Duo was used to long travels. It also helped having Trowa there. After a good nights sleep in a warm bed and a hot breakfast, Duo had felt like he was himself again. That meant that he was his old talkative self, though Trowa didn't seem to mind. Duo continued to ramble on until there was nothing left to talk about. Thanks to his constant chatter, it seemed like they were docking on earth in no time at all.

Duo was excited. It had been a long time since he had seen Quatre. Not that it hadn't been a long time since he had seen Trowa or Heero, but Duo was much closer to Quatre. Though the trip to earth seemed to fly, the ride to Quatre's house dragged on. Trowa and Duo had been met by a very nice BMW and were taken straight from London's Shuttle Port. When they finally arrived, Duo was nearly bursting with excitement. Duo stared up at the house as his and Trowa's things were taken inside by the driver.

The house was two stories, and fairly large. It had been built in the Victorian style, though one could tell that it was fairly new looking. From first glance, Duo guessed that there were probably around five to six bedrooms, at least two bathrooms, a decent sized kitchen, a living room and a formal dinning room. It wouldn't have surprised him if there was even a separate breakfast nook. It was a large house indeed, but not overly large. For a multi-millionaire, it was fairly small actually. Duo's attention to the house was instantly grabbed away when a short blond blur came rushing towards him. Duo was being hugged by Quatre before he knew what was happening, but he was happy to return the hug.

"Duo! It's so good to see you! I've missed you so much! You must tell me what has been happening this past year with you! Come in, come in." Duo was ushered into the house, but not before Quatre greeted Trowa properly with a hug. Duo took his shoes off in the foyer, taking the opportunity to scope out the first floor as best he could. He was able to make out the living room to his right and a formal dinning room to his left. Beyond the dinning room he guessed to be the kitchen. A staircase in the foyer, along the dinning room wall, led upstairs. Duo was unsure what lay beyond the living room, but he guessed that there was a bathroom and maybe even an office/small library. He would later find out that his suspicions were true, and also find that there were five decent sized bedrooms upstairs and two bathrooms as well, one leading off of the master bedroom. "Oh my goodness, Duo. It's so good to have you here." Quatre engulfed Duo in another tight hug before leading him to the living room. "This is the living room, though it's more of a sitting room than anything else. I entertain downstairs, and that's where you will find the television, pool table, and the bar."

"Cool." Duo smiled. He was having a hard time getting anything in between Quatre's talking.

"You'll find your stuff in one of the bedrooms upstairs. Make yourself right at home. I do have a cook; she serves breakfast at eight, lunch at noon, and dinner at 6. But, if you get hungry between those times and just want a snack, feel free to pop in the kitchen and grab something to eat. Mary is really sweet and can help you with finding what you want."

"Thanks Quat." Duo had no problem finding every thing or making himself at home. Quatre had left him after giving him a tour of the house to do some paper work; Duo took the opportunity to unpack a little before dinner. He didn't have much, so it was quite quick and easy to get his stuff unpacked. He found himself with a good hour and a half left before dinner and took the opportunity to explore the grounds a little bit. He found a small garden in the back yard though there was nothing extravagant about it. There were some flowers, but mostly it was a vegetable garden. The back yard wasn't too big, nor was the front or the sides. Duo took note that though they lived in a less populated area, they were still very close to the city. The time passed quickly and soon it was dinnertime.

He had to admit that it was a little weird, the entire situation he was in, but wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth. He reassure Quatre during dinner that he would get a job as fast as possible, and Quatre, being the kind hearted man he was, told Duo to take his time and that there was no rush. He understood the situation Duo was in - or empathized rather. Things were going to be ok, Duo was finally sure of it.

XXX

To Duo's amazement, he had snagged himself a job within the first week of staying at Quatre's. It wasn't much; a simple job at a mechanics shop. He didn't have any schooling for the area, but the manager was fascinated in Duo's background with working with Howard and Duo showed an extensive knowledge and ability to work on cars. He had been lucky that that alone had gotten him the job. Though it wasn't much, he enjoyed it nonetheless. Quatre informed him that he could stay as long as he needed until he accumulated enough money to get his own place. It was London, and though the cost of living had gone down after many years, it was still quite expensive to get one's own place. He knew it wouldn't be easy, but he was determined to not live off of Quatre for too long.

Something was off though. Though Duo wasn't at the house often, and neither was Quatre for that matter since he too had to work, they ate breakfast and dinner together and saw each other on the weekends. This wasn't at all strange, but the feelings that Duo were having inside were. Every time he was with Quatre, even saw him, a strange fuzzy feeling built up inside of his stomach. He slowly found himself drawn the sweet innocent man. He also found himself attracted to Quatre. It was no secret that Duo was gay; he saw no need to keep it a secret. But he never thought that he would find himself falling for his best friend. He wasn't even sure if Quatre was gay; true he had never seen his friend with anyone, male or female, but he couldn't just assume something like that. He couldn't come right out and ask either, that just wasn't right. He only had one option, and that was to ask around. He hadn't talked to Wufei in almost a year, and he knew it wasn't right to just call him up out of the blue to ask him such a trivial thing. He didn't really want to call Heero; it wasn't that they didn't get along but they weren't the best of buddies either. Trowa seemed to be his only option, and he could ask him.

It was about two weeks after he had arrived that Duo had decided to give Trowa a call. It was pretty early in the evening for Duo, so he knew it was about nine where Trowa was. Duo would have used the vid phone, if it weren't in the living area, so he used the regular cordless phone and took it to his room. Duo paced in front of his window as the phone rang.

"Hello?" Duo sighed in relief that it had been Trowa who had picked up the phone and not Heero.

"Hey Trowa! It's Duo." Duo paused to look out of the window. It was facing the backyard, and he could see Mary picking some vegetables for dinner.

"Hi Duo. What can I do for you?"

"Well, I was wondering if you could answer a question for me."

"Go ahead"

"Hmm, I'm not really sure how to ask this. I guess I should just come straight out. Um, I was wondering if you possibly knew if...well if Quatre's straight or not?" Duo held his breath.

"Oh, um. Well, I'm not really sure, to be completely honest. He's never said anything to me, and I can't say I've ever seen him date anyone. He doesn't seem to really have the time to go out and 'look' for someone per say. Why did you want to know?"

"Oh, I was just curious is all. Thanks though Trowa. I have to go for now, but I'll talk to you later."

"Ok. Bye."

Duo hung the phone up and sighed. Just his luck that Trowa wouldn't know. He looked at his clock and noticed it was time for dinner.

Dinner was as good as usual. Duo always enjoyed the fact that Quatre encouraged Mary to eat with them, and that she was willing to take up his offer.

"So how was your day, Duo?" Quatre inquired before taking bite of his chicken.

"Huh? Oh, it was good. Nothing exciting." Duo's mind was not in the same place as his body, that much was for sure. He was trying to figure out a way to find out if Quatre liked men, women or both. "How about yourself?"

"Oh it was good. Fairly low key. How about you Mary?"

Mary looked up and smiled. She was a short woman in her thirty's. Her long blond hair was always up in a bun and her round face was always a welcome sight. "It went well. Same as every other day."

"Well that's good. Oh, I wanted you both to know," Quatre started, "In two days time some people will be coming by. I'm taking some time off for a weeks vacation. Heero, Sasha, Trowa, and Wufei will all be coming down to earth (1). They'll all be staying a week, kind of like a mini vacation just to spend some time together. Will you be able to handle having five extra people, Mary?"

"Oh, it won't be a problem. I might get some help from Karen, if that's okay with you." Mary stated.

"That sounds fine. It'll make things on you a little easier. I'm sorry it's such short notice, for both of you." Quatre apologized.

"Never a problem sir." Mary reassured.

"Oh, that's ok. It's not a problem by me." Duo smiled. It kind of sucked that the short notice didn't give him a chance to get time off of work, but he would still be able to spend time with his friends even if he did have to work. The fact that he was going to be able to be with his friends again was enough.

XXX

The entire week had been busy but relaxing. Duo had been happy to catch up with Wufei, and to get to know Sasha better. He talked with Heero a bit, and spent a little more time with Trowa. All too soon, Saturday night came. Quatre had decided to throw a little party downstairs, as everyone would be leaving the next morning.

Duo sighed as he took another drink of his screwdriver. He was getting pretty buzzed, and even Heero couldn't bring his mood down. He looked around, taking note of what everyone else was doing. Wufei and Sasha were talking on the couch, also enjoying the music playing. Trowa and Heero were playing pool and talking, with Quatre watching their game. Duo wanted to talk to Quatre, but something was holding him back. The other man looked pretty buzzed seeing as he was giggling more than he normally ever did (buzzed or drunk, Duo wasn't actually sure). The American sighed and leaned against the bar. What was he going to do?

Quite unexpectedly, Quatre moved away from the pool table and made his way over to Duo. There was a slight smile on the blond Arabs face, and Duo couldn't help but wonder what Quatre was up to. Quatre leaned against the bar, a large smile sprawling on his lips.

"Hey Duo."

Duo couldn't help but smile himself. "Hey Quatre."

"Duo, I-I was wondering if I could talk to you...in private." Quatre said, making a clear effort to keep his speech steady.

"S-sure Quatre." Quatre moved, took hold of Duo's hand and led him to the laundry room that was separated from the rest of the area. Quatre let go of Duo's hand and hopped up on the dryer, getting himself comfortable.

"What did you want to talk about Quatre?" Duo asked, standing a few feet from the dryer.

"Well, you know Duo, I've been wanting to talk to you for some time. I just, I guess I've been too chicken really. No one knows, of course no one knows. I mean, I've never even dated anyone before. You know, for a long time, I wasn't even sure how I really felt. I mean, I know I'm young, but I always feared that I'd never end up with anyone, with my business and all. I wasn't even sure if I liked men or women for the longest time. You grow up being taught that it's only proper to marry a woman. Not that I don't like woman, I knew that I did. But, I always had these feelings that always confused me. I found, that I liked men too. But I wasn't even sure if I could like both, until one day I found out that I could. So I guess, what I'm trying to say is that I like you Duo. I like you a lot, and not just as a friend. I know that this is sudden, and I hope I haven't totally freaked you out or anything." Quatre sighed. Duo was completely in shock. He had never known Quatre to be so open, though the fact that the blond man was bordering drunk probably contributed to that. It suddenly set in what Quatre had said.

"Wow, Quatre. That's a lot to say."

"I know." Quatre took a deep breath. "And I know you might think it's the alcohol talking but it's not. And you might not feel the same, but if you don't I still want us to be friends Duo. I don't want you to look at me any differently."

Duo took a step forward. "Quatre, I'll never look at you the same way." Quatre's face sunk a little, and Duo quickly grabbed the other man by the arms. "What I mean is, that I've never really looked at you exactly like a friend." Duo kicked himself inside. Nothing he said seemed to be coming out right. He had to fix things fast before he completely broke Quatre's heart. "I mean, Quatre. To me, you've always been more. Yes, you've been a friend. But I must admit that I've always liked you more than I used to want to admit. You're...you're amazing in so many ways. I can't help but be attracted to you." Quatre's eyes shot up and a small smile formed on his face.

"Do you - do you really mean that?"

"More than you'll ever know, Quat." Duo took a deep breath and did the most daring thing he might have ever done (aside from throwing his life away to be a Gundam Pilot). Gently, he lifted a hand off of Quatre's arm and took hold of the Arab mans chin. Duo leaned in and gently placed a kiss on Quatre's lips. The other man leaned in, kissing back. Duo could hardly believe that this was actually happening. How could it be so easy? Had society warped mans mind to believe that love was such a difficult thing to achieve? Duo wasn't sure, but he was hoping that Quatre hadn't drunk too much to the point that he wouldn't remember it all in the morning.

Quatre pushed away. He took hold of Duo's hand and pulled him out of the laundry room. Duo gave a shrug to the others as he was pulled up the stairs. They didn't stop there; they continued on up to the second floor and into the master bedroom. Duo had a feeling he knew where this was headed. Quatre turned, taking hold of Duo's other hand. He smiled and pulled him over to the bed.

"Quatre..." Duo started, but Quatre cut him off with a kiss. Duo couldn't help but be drawn in. Soon, Duo found himself on top of Quatre on the bed. It was all happening so fast - too fast. Duo pulled away, even as Quatre grabbed for him to come back. "Quatre, no. This isn't right. You're drunk."

"I'm just a little buzzed."

Duo shook his head. "No." He stood up, and moved away. It wasn't right for him to take advantage of Quatre. He turned around to walk out the door. At the door, he looked back to see Quatre passed out on the bed. Duo sighed and left to go to his room. For some reason, part of him was a little sad, and he wasn't really sure why. Whatever the cause, he would figure it out in the morning when he was sober.

XXX

Duo woke to the sun shinning in through the window. It wasn't an unwelcome sight, but it wasn't very pleasant for Duo's slightly pounding head. He sighed and rolled out of bed. As he chose something to wear for the day, he re-braided his hair and thanked the gods that he had been smart enough to take a quick shower before he went to bed. Once dressed, he looked at the time. He had missed breakfast by an hour, but he hoped that he hadn't missed everyone leaving. Duo quickly made his way downstairs, relieved to find his friends conversing in the living/sitting room. He went to the kitchen and grabbed a granola bar before going out to the living room.

"Morning everyone." Duo greeted, taking a seat beside Trowa. Everyone greeted him with a 'morning'. Duo took note that Quatre was missing from the group before asking, "So what's goin' on?"

"We're just waiting for Quatre to finish working out the details of our departure. We should be leaving within the hour." Trowa informed. It wasn't long before Quatre came back and quickly ushered the others out of the room and off to meet their planes. Duo said his goodbyes, a little sad that they all had to go. He had nearly forgotten about the event that had occurred the night before until Quatre came into the living room after seeing everyone off. Duo was relaxing in one of the chairs when his friend came in and sat down on the couch kiddy corner to Duo.

"Can we talk?" Quatre asked, a little on edge.

"Sure." Duo fought to keep his eyes on Quatre and to not wonder. He was a little worried about what was about to happen.

"Well I wanted to talk about last night. I want to apologize for the way I acted." Quatre looked down at his folded hands. "I don't drink much, as you can probably already tell. But, everything I said I meant. I'm just sorry for my actions; they were completely out of line. And I want to thank you, for...well for respecting me and not doing anything." He looked up with the slightest hint of a smile on his face.

Duo smiled. "You're welcome."

"So, Duo. Do you think we could, sort of start over."

Duo took Quatre's hands in his. "You know Quatre. I think I'd like that a lot." Quatre smiled, and Duo smiled back. For once in Duo's life he was sure that things were going to turn out right.

_Owari_.

**(1) I wrote this and laughed to myself. 'down to earth'...ah...I crack myself up. Okay, so maybe it wasn't that funny**

**AN: Okay, so this story happens really fast in my opinion. When I wrote it, I didn't realize that everything was happening so quickly (I wrote it like two weeks ago). I apologize if there were any words misspelled (like alone accidentally becoming along, etc). I re-read this but I'm only human. So for the most part a quick 2x4 story.**


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